Cursed
by Wonder42
Summary: Melody Hollingberry is being pursued by an evil entity. When she, her aunt, and uncle go to SPR for help, she meets two young boys her age, twins, one of whom intrigues her greatly. Will she be able to survive the dangers that lie ahead? And what will happen when she falls in love along the way? How will she react when she discovers the secret that has been laying within her?
1. Going to SPR

**Disclaimer: I do now own Ghost Hunt!**

**But I DO own my OCs! **

**This is my third fanfiction, but my first on Ghost Hunt. Hope you like it! **

**A little information before you read:**

**Gene is alive in this fanfiction. **

**Naru and Mai are not dating (yet).  
They are in Japan (SPR). **

**Anyways, on with the story!**

**Enjoy! **

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

I looked out the window at the passing buildings and people. I was in the car with my Aunt Valerie and Uncle Jack going to this place called Shibuya Psychic Research, or SPR for short. We are having some serious problems. I had the bandages around my forearm under my sleeve to prove it.

Over the past few weeks, there has been a certain air in my house. I'm always having the feeling that someone's watching me, when no one is there. I'm afraid to be alone. It was basically just doors shutting themselves and electrical stuff acting up, but things escalated quickly. Just last night, I was attacked in my room by an apparition.

I was sitting on my bed reading, minding my own business. Out of nowhere I feel a presence in the room, and look up to see a black-robed figure standing at the foot of my bed. I tried to ignore it and squeezed my eyes shut. Big mistake. When I opened them again, it was on top of me, with the hood back, revealing a truly terrorizing face.

It basically wasn't even a face at all. It looked like a tanned skull with black holes for eyes, no nose, and a rotting mouth. I screamed and dropped my book in panic. It opened its mouth, revealing rotting or missing teeth. It grabbed me by my neck and forced me to lie down on my back. I couldn't move or breathe, and could feel the pressure on my chest. I just stared at it, my mouth agape, wishing for it to go away.

My aunt and uncle came running in and tried to pull me up; apparently they couldn't see the ghost or else they would have taken off running. My aunt started praying for God to help me while my uncle tried to yank me up and get me to breathe.

It finally went away and I sat up, coughing and choking for air. It had left three bleeding, burning scratch marks on my left forearm. That's when my aunt and uncle had decided they had enough. I slept with them in their bed last night, having several nightmares. They promised me they would contact someone in the morning; in hopes that they could help.

"We're here, Melody." I heard Aunt Valerie say, unbuckling her seat belt. I sighed inwardly and ran a hand through my pale blonde, medium-length hair. I opened the door and got out of the car. I shut the door behind me and walked over to my Aunt and Uncle.

"You ready?" Uncle Jack asked me. I nodded my head in response and zipped up my plain, bright cobalt blue jacket up further. They smiled sadly and walked towards the door to SPR.

Once we opened the door, we were greeted by a girl dressed in a tank top and flowing skirt.

"Hello, and welcome to SPR!" she greeted cheerfully. She had short brown hair and big brown eyes.

"Thank you." said Aunt Valerie.

"Are you here for the two o'clock appointment?" she asked.

"Yes." Aunt Valerie answered.

"Alright. Have a seat and we'll be with you shortly." she said, gesturing towards the sitting area behind her. We thanked her and took our seats. After a moment, we saw three more people come around a corner.

It was obvious that two of those three were twins. They had black hair, with a few locks casually hanging in their faces, down to the nape of their necks. They had grey-dark purple colored eyes, and pale skin. They were both tall and thin; well built. One wore all black, and the other wore dark blue. The one in black had a stoic face, while the other had a soft smile gracing his lips.

The other one was about a head taller than the twins. His hair was long and jet black, with hair covering one half of his face. He had dull, dark brown eyes and fair skin. He wore a white button-up shirt, black tie, black pants, and black dress shoes. He carried a laptop in his hands and set it down on his lap as he sat down on the opposite couch across from us.

The girl came back in carrying a tray filled with teacups. She handed one to everybody and stood next to the couch beside the men.

I stared down into my cup. It was filled with brown liquid, likely tea. I took a sip and found it was quite tasty. It had been a long while since I had drank good tea; besides my own. Neither my aunt nor uncle could make tea worth a darn.

"Let's begin with introducing ourselves." the twin with blue said. "I'm Eugene Davis. You can call me Gene." he said with a polite smile. "This is my twin brother, Dr. Oliver Davis," he said, gesturing towards him. "this is Koujo Lin," he said, pointing towards the man with the laptop. "and this is Mai Taniyama." he said pointing to the girl. '_I've heard of Dr. Davis and his brother before._' I thought. '_I thought they were in England?_'

"It's nice to meet you." Mai said politely. I pushed a smile in return.

"It's nice to meet you too. I'm Melody Hollingberry, and this is my Uncle Jack and Aunt Valerie Durham." I said, gesturing towards them.

"Hello." Uncle Jack said.

"Nice to meet you." Aunt Valerie said. They did their best to smile, but it was a very weak one.

"How about you start from the beginning." Dr. Davis said. Aunt Valerie and Uncle Jack nodded. Uncle Jack turned to me and asked, "Would you like to explain it?" I nodded my head and took a deep breath and retell the story.

"It all started about two weeks ago. At first it was just lights flickering and electrical appliances acting up. We thought it was nothing, and brushed it off. Then, it was more things. Such as doors slamming closed when no one's there, random objects flying and hitting the walls, and I would sometimes see a hooded figure in my room, but when I blinked, it was gone. Things have really started to escalate since then. Just last night, I was attacked. I was sitting on my bed, alone, reading a book. I felt like I was being watched, and I look up and see the same figure I had been seeing for the past few days. I closed my eyes and hoped it would go away. When I opened them again, it was hovering over me, and it's hood was pulled back. It's face was horrifying." my voice breaks a little, and my hands start to shake slightly. "I screamed and it forced me to lie down on the bed, and started to choke me. I couldn't do anything but hope it would go away. My aunt and uncle came rushing in, but there was nothing they could do. It finally disappeared, but it left something behind." I said, lifting up my jacket sleeve.

I carefully unwrapped the gauze on my left forearm and held it out for them to see. Everyone's eyebrows shot up, and the twins leaned forward, as if to get a better look.

"We're definitely dealing with something bad here." Dr. Davis said, still eying my arm. '_I think that's pretty obvious._' I thought to myself.

"Please help us!" Aunt Valerie pleaded. "I-I don't want something terrible to happen to my niece. I. . . I don't want to lose her!" she said, tears forming in her eyes. I frowned and crouched down in front of her.

"Aunt Val, it's going to be alright." I said, smiling softly and holding her hands gently. I rubbed her knuckles soothingly, trying to calm her down. "What's meant to happen, will happen." I said gently. Aunt Valerie has always had some emotional problems ever since my mother died, leaving me alone. Aunt Valerie and my mother were the closest sisters on the planet.

Aunt Valerie looked down at me and smiled weakly. "I know sweetie. I'm sorry; I can't help but worry about you." she said. I knew exactly why- she didn't have to explain it to me. She was worried that I was going to end up like my mother.

I suddenly felt something a few feet behind me. I recognized it. It was the entity. It followed us. No, it followed _me_. My eyes grew wide and I froze in my tracks.

"What is it, Melody?" Aunt Valerie asks, concern written all over her face.

"It followed me." I said, barely above a whisper. She and my uncle pale and their eyes go wide. I let go of Aunt Valerie's hands and stand slowly. I turn around even slower.

Just as I expected, I see it. A black, hooded mass standing in the corner of the room near the door. I stare at it, and it stares back. I bite my lip and try to show no fear. We stare at each other for who-knows-how-long and I see, out of the corner of my eye, something move. I tear my eyes away from it and look towards the movement.

Before I can react, I see it move again. I can't see what it is before it comes flying straight at my head. I gasp and duck down. Whatever it was is sent into the wall, and I hear the sound of something breaking. I turn around to see if my Aunt and Uncle are alright, but I feel something right behind me. I whip around again, and see the figure right in front of me, hood still down, thank goodness.

I'm about to dodge out of the way, but it pushes me, hard. I slam into a wall, my feet off the ground by an inch. I groan in pain and sink down. I sit on the floor and hold my head with my hand. My whole body aches now. I heard my aunt screaming in terror and my uncle trying to calm her. She must be terrified. I look up and see the figure still there. I stare up at it, filled with terror. I try not to let my terror show as I unsteadily stand from the ground, hugging the wall for support. I hear a whisper.

"_I will kill you_." I hear it whisper before it disappears into thin air. I feel my body shake from fear. I collapse back onto the floor and sling my arms over my knees, squeezing my eyes shut and bowing my head down. '_Am I really going to die?_' I asked myself.

I hear someone crouch in front of me, so I open my eyes and look up. It's Gene, and he looks highly concerned. I can still hear my aunt in the background, hysterical.

"Are you alright?" he asked gently. I nod my head slightly and move my legs to stand up. He gently holds onto my arm and helps me up.

Once I get on my feet, the whole word feels like a flight of stairs; it hurts to just take one step. Gene helps me over to the couch, and I collapse between my aunt and uncle; whom have finally calmed down for the most part. I lean my head back and close my eyes, panting lightly.

"Are you alright?" Uncle Jack asks gently, rubbing my thigh soothingly. I nod my head and sigh.

"At least I can breathe." I said jokingly as I cracked a small smile, eyes still closed. I open my eyes and stare at the ceiling and start to count the bumps on it to help calm myself down.

"Melody, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" Aunt Valerie says, placing a hand over her chest.

"Did you take your medicine?" I asked, turning my head towards her.

"Well, yes- but-" she started, but got caught on her words.

"Maybe you should take it more often." I suggested, looking back towards the ceiling.

"This is no time for joking!" My aunt said, trying to hide a smile.

"Would you rather my mouth be cracking jokes or my body cracking bones?" I asked teasingly, smirking at the ceiling.

"Melody!" my aunt said before giggling. I heard my uncle chuckle softly. I'm glad I could get them to laugh. I didn't want them to worry; the best way to do that is to make them laugh.

"She's alright Valerie. If she can sit there and fool around she'll be fine." Uncle Jack said. When they finally settled back down, they turned to the SPR workers.

"Will you please help us?" Uncle Jack asked, hope filling his eyes and voice.

"Of course." Gene said, smiling softly.

"We'll be happy to help." Mai said.

"Can you have three rooms prepared for us by tomorrow?" Dr. Davis asked. "Two for sleeping and one with plenty of outlets? We will be staying at your house day and night to capture evidence."

"Of course." Aunt Valerie said.

"What time will you be arriving?" Uncle Jack asked.

"Around 8 AM tomorrow. Is that alright?"

"Yes, of course!"

"We want to start this case as soon as possible, considering lives are in danger." he said, still wearing his stoic mask over his face.

"Alright."

After giving them our address and bidding them goodbye, and thanking them, we left for home. I wasn't quite sure how things were going to play out, but I was sure everything was going to be just fine in the end.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Gene's POV **

I sat back down on the couch after Melody and her aunt and uncle left. The entity had attacked her here in SPR! That doesn't happen every often. But how did it follow them? Sooo many questions I'm sure even the idiot scientist doesn't have answers for. Well, at least not yet.

"_What are you thinking about?" _I heard Noll's voice in my head ask.

"_What do you think?" _I ask back. _"This case, of course! Don't you think it's odd how the entity followed her? That doesn't happen very often." _

"_No, it doesn't. But we're going to get to the bottom of it." _

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**Yay! First chapter! I hope you like the story so far!**

**The ghost followed them to SPR! And why is it only attacking Melody and not her aunt or uncle? What happened to her mother? You'll find out. . . eventually. Haha. **

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

**Remember to read, review, follow, and favorite! **

**Go check out my other fanfictions!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Byeeeeeeeeee! :) **


	2. Rising Concerns

**Disclaimer: I do now own Ghost Hunt!**

**But I DO own Melody, Aunt Valerie, and Uncle Jack! **

**Chapter 2! **

**I hope you all like this chapter! **

**Enjoy! **

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I sat up in my bed with a start, panting. I looked around and I was immediately blinded by the rising sun shining through my bedroom window. '_It was just a nightmare._' I told myself as I hugged my knees to my chest. I had relived my mother's death. _Again_.

I looked over at the clock on my nightstand. '_5:59. Well, I'm not going back to sleep, so I might as well get up._' I thought as I lifted the covers from my body.

I went into my bathroom, stripped, and took a nice, long shower. I stood under the running water and tried to relax. Thankfully, last night was uneventful. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. But I hoped that something would happen today so that SPR could see. Besides me getting attacked, hopefully. Maybe they can catch that thing on camera.

I dried off and wrapped the towel around my body as I went back into my room to get some clothes to wear. Deciding to layer, I picked out a tank top, jeans, ankle socks, and the same jacket I wore yesterday. I put my clothes on, along with some fresh gauze over my cuts, and blow-dried my hair.

I looked into the mirror at myself as I was arranging my hair. I stared into my bright green and piercing eyes. They went well with my light blonde hair. I brushed my hair out and laid a few locks over my shoulders. I tucked some behind my ear and smiled.

I never did wear a lot of makeup, sometimes I wore none at all. I didn't really need any. All I used was lip balm and maybe some concealer. I had tons of it though; my aunt had given it to me in case I ever needed or wanted it. I picked up a tube of my favorite lip balm; it was strawberry scented.

I picked up my phone from my nightstand and put it in my jacket pocket. I also made up my bed neatly and smoothed down the sheets.

After I was finished getting ready for the day, I went downstairs to see if anyone else was up. The second I opened the door, I was hit by the smell of food. It smelled great. I walked down the stairs and saw my uncle making breakfast.

"Morning, Melody." he greeted when he saw me.

"Good morning, Uncle Jack. Where's Aunt Val?" I asked.

"She's getting ready for the workshop today." he said, and I just took notice that he was wearing a suit. My uncle was a well-known lawyer here in Japan, and my aunt was a great college professor. I nodded in response and stood beside him.

"Anything I can do to help?" I asked.

"Can you set the table?"

"Sure." I said as I moved to get the plates first.

I put them down on the island in the center of the kitchen. I got the silverware and glasses and put them where they belonged beside the plates. I got out orange juice and milk, pouring juice for the adults and milk for me. I sat down on a bar stool at my place as I waited for the food to be done.

I heard footsteps going down the stairs, and I turned to see Aunt Valerie coming down the stairs, wearing a suit jacket and a black pencil skirt, along with classy high heels.

"Morning, sweetie." she said as she walked up to me and planted a kiss on my forehead.

"Good morning." I said.

Even though it was Sunday, and fall break was starting, she had to go to a workshop on the other side of town for a few hours. My uncle had to go to court today to prove someone guilty of such-and-such crime. I watched as she walked over to my uncle and gave him a good morning kiss as well.

After a few more minutes, breakfast was ready and we were eating. My uncle had made bacon, eggs, and french toast. He was a pretty good cook; it was delicious. When we finished eating, we put our dishes in the sink, and bid my aunt goodbye.

"I have to go now, sweetie. Uncle Jack is going to stay here with you until the psychic researchers come okay?" Aunt Valerie said, getting her purse and briefcase from the couch in the living room.

"Okay." I said simply, and moved to hug her goodbye. She squeezed me gently and smoothed my hair down.

"Stay safe and be careful while we're gone." she said. I nodded my head and pulled away from the hug as she did. I gave her a kiss on the cheek, which she returned.

She told Uncle Jack goodbye and left for work. I watched out of either of the two windows by the door as she drove off. I sighed softly and picked up a book that was laying on the coffee table in the living room. I opened it up and started to read, not even glancing at the cover. I saw Uncle Jack sit down in his chair and open his briefcase, reading over files.

After who-knows-how-long, we heard the doorbell ring. I shut my book and saw Uncle Jack put away his papers and shut his briefcase. We walked over to the door and I opened it, revealing SPR. At the door was Gene, Dr. Davis, Mr. Lin, Mai, and two others I didn't recognize; a man with a ponytail and a woman with red hair.

"Hello! I greeted kindly, smiling. They all greeted us and I said, "Come inside!" I said, stepping back so they could enter.

I saw a large black van parked on the side of the road in front of our house that read, "Shibuya Psychic Research, SPR", and another car right behind it.

They all walked in and looked around. Sure, we had a rather large house, so a lot of people would want a good look.

"It's great to see you again." Uncle Jack said with a smile. "Pardon me if I'm being rude, but who are these two?" he asked, gesturing towards the unknown man and woman.

"Oh, I'm Hosho Takigawa!" said the man with a smile.

"I'm Ayako Matsuzaki. It's great to meet you." said the woman with a smile.

"It's great to meet you, too!" I said cheerfully.

"Well, Melody." my uncle said, picking up his briefcase. "I've got to get to work now. I'll see you later." he said, and gave me a quick hug and planted a kiss on the top of my head.

"Okay." I said. "Good luck!"

"Thanks. Be careful!" he said, striding out the door.

"Alright!" I said, and stood at the door, watching him walk to his car.

"Contact me if you need me!" he called out, smiling and opening the car door.

"I'll send you a postcard!" I yelled to him, sounding as if I was falling. He threw his head back and let out a laugh.

"Bye!" I said as he entered the car. I watched as he shut the door to his car, and I shut the door to the house and locked it, smiling in amusement.

"How about I show you around?" I suggested, still smiling.

They all give their approval and I showed them the house. I showed them every single room; the kitchen, the living room, the dining room, the bedrooms, everything.

"Nice house you have here." Ayako comments at the end of the tour.

"Thank you." I say politely. We had ended up back in the living room.

"I think we have a pretty good idea of where to place our equipment now." Dr. Davis said, looking around a little.

"Let's go get the equipment, then."Gene said, and walked outside, with the others following suit. I decided to leave them to their work, and picked my book back up and started reading where I had left off.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Gene's POV**

I sat down in front of the monitors and looked at them all. We had set up cameras all over the place. We had one facing the front door, one in the living room, two in the kitchen, one in the adults' bed room, one in the hallways, and a _lot _in Melody's bedroom.

From the angle of the camera, I could see Melody sitting on the couch in the living room, reading. She had just picked up that book and she was already halfway finished with it. And that's one big book. '_She must be a fast reader._' I thought. Melody really was a sweet girl. And she's pretty, too. What am I thinking?

I sat back and observed the other monitors, watching for activity. Mai had gone to take temperature readings, Noll was doing research, Ayako and Hosho were arguing, and Lin was beside me watching the monitors, with headphones on.

I see Melody look up from her book, as if something caught her attention. I couldn't see what she was looking at by the angle of the camera. Her eyes go wide and she ducks; a book goes flying over her head and hits the wall. She cautiously stands and picks the book up from the floor, inspecting it. She frowns and puts the book back where it belongs. I furrow my brows as I replay it in my mind.

"Did you see that, Lin?" I ask as I turn towards the tall Chinese man. He nods and keeps his eyes on the screen.

"No audio." he replies. By that he means no voices or anything important.

Mai comes back with the temperature readings and, for some reason, starts to argue with Noll. I don't pay attention- I'm too busy thinking about this entity we were dealing with. What could it be?

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Melody's POV **

I turn my attention back to my book as I sit back down, trying to ignore what just happened. If I didn't duck, that book would have hit me right in the head. Scary.

Out of nowhere, I feel a tug on my hair. Then, it's a full-out _yank_. I yell in pain and drop my book. It releases my hair and I jump up, spinning around. There's nothing there, and nothing that could have pulled my hair. I rub my head and look around, thinking I'll see something. When I don't I turn back around to sit, and I come face-to-face with the hooded figure again. I jump and yelp, stepping back, only to run into the couch.

"_I will kill you."_ it says before inching closer. I whimper and sit on the couch, staring up at it with nowhere else to go. It starts to pull back it's hood, and I scream in fear and bury my face in my hands. I do _not _want to see his face ever again.

I hear footsteps running down the stairs, and gingerly look up. Thankfully the entity is gone, and it's only Gene and Dr. Davis coming.

"Are you alright?" Gene asks, stepping over towards me. I don't know how, but I can always tell them apart. Maybe it's because Dr. Davis is always wearing black, or maybe it's their different personalities. I nod slowly in response.

I pull my knees to my chest and bow my head down, shaking slightly. The memory of that face returns to me, and I can't stand it.

"Are you sure?" he asks again, and I feel a hand on my shoulder. I jump, but I realize it's only Gene. This time, I shake my head, still looking down. "What's the matter?" he asks gently, and I can feel the couch sink down slightly; I assume he sits beside me.

"I don't want to see his face. Not ever again." I said, barely above a whisper.

"Can you shown us what it looks like?" I hear Dr. Davis ask. I lift my head a little, and see Gene giving him a look. Dr. Davis raises his eyebrows slightly. It's almost as if they were reading each others minds.

"Only if you're up to it." Gene says as he turns back to me.

"I will." I say quietly as I get up and get a piece of paper and pencil from a nearby drawer.

I sit cross-legged on the floor in front of the coffee table, and hold the pencil in my hand. I close my eyes and imagine his face. I shudder lightly and open my eyes again. I imagine his face on the paper, and I see it. I begin to trace it onto the paper.

Once I'm finished, I set my pencil down and look at my work. It looks just like what it did when I saw it. Drawing was one of the things I was really good at. I shudder lightly as I turn and hand the paper to Gene, whom holds it between him and his brother, both sitting on the couch.

Their eyes go wide and their eyebrows shoot up as they examine my drawing. "Woah."Gene murmurs as he stares at the drawing. "That is truly scary." he says before handing the drawing to Dr. Davis, whom stares at it intently.

"That's really what you saw?" he asks as he bends over forward slightly. I nod and sit back down on the couch, beside him.

"It was horrible." I say, and shake a little from the memory. Gene gently puts a hand on my shoulder, and I turn my hand to face him.

"Don't worry, Melody. We're here to help." he says soothingly. I smile lightly.

"Thank you." I say, and face forward again as his hand drops. "Did you hear what it said to me?" I ask, staring at the wall.

"It said something?" he asks. I'll take that as a 'no'.

"It said, 'I will kill you.'" I say, and my gaze falls down. "It said the same thing to me when it pushed me into the wall at your office." I say, a bit lower. Gene stares at me wide-eyed.

Dr. Davis then says, "This is more serious than we thought."

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

**SPR has come to Melody's house! And, something wants her life. Why? How did this happen? You'll find out someday. **

**Hope you liked this chapter!**

**Remember to read, review, follow, and favorite!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Byeeeeeeeeee! :) **


	3. A Hidden Talent

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt! **

**But I DO own Melody, Aunt Valerie, and Uncle Jack! **

**Thanks to borntoflyhigh and lexzly for reviewing! **

**borntoflyhigh: thanks! :)**

**lexzly: glad you like it, and thanks! **

**Also, thanks to my followers and favoriters! **

**Enjoy! **

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I stood at the sink, finishing up washing the dishes. I was softly singing a song from one of my favorite animes. Everyone that knows me knows I love watching anime and reading manga; I find the Japanese culture fascinating, like my aunt and uncle do.

I shut the water off and dried my hands with a dishcloth. From somewhere beside me, I heard a strange sound. It sounded like a sword being unsheathed. I froze, and listened intently. I felt something behind me, so I put down the cloth and spun around.

Hovering in the air a few feet in front of me, was a very sharp knife! I froze and stared at it, unable to move or do anything. It lunged for me, and I screamed bloody murder, throwing my hands out in front of me.

There was a flash of light, and the knife clattered to the ground, and I could no longer feel something in front of me. I gaped at the knife, wondering what the light was and what happened. With shaking hands, I knelt down and picked up the knife, putting it in the sink.

I heard footsteps running down the stairs, and saw Gene, Dr. Davis, Lin. . . well, basically everyone in the household came running.

"How did you do that?" Takigawa said, voice a bit loud.

"Do what?" I asked, arching an eyebrow.

"You don't know what you just did?" Mai questioned, mouth agape.

"Just did what?" I asked, raising both eyebrows.

"Come see for yourself."

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

I follow Lin up the stairs to their base room. I was totally lost and confused. What were they talking about?

When we made it into the room, Lin sat down in a chair that was in front of several monitors. He hits a few buttons, and points to a certain screen.

On the monitor, I see me, and what just happened. The knife is floating in front of me, and it lunges at me. I see myself throwing my hands up, and out of my right hand, a ball of light, or something of that sort, shoots out and hits the knife. It falls to the ground, and the video rewinds. I watch it again in slow-motion. I stare wide-eyed at the screen.

"Mom." I say, just above a whisper. My mom was a psychic, and could do that and so much more. Did I inherit her abilities?

I take a few steps back, my skin pale and both hands over my mouth. I can feel everyone staring at me, even though I can't see past the tears in my eyes. I hold back the chokes and cries that rise in my tight throat as the tears start to fall.

I start towards the door, but as I'm about to walk out of the doorway, the door slams in my face. I jump back in surprise and try the doorknob, but it doesn't budge.

"Stand back." Lin says as he walks up behind me. I step to the side as he asks, and he raises his foot and kicks the door, _hard_. It still doesn't move an inch.

He stares with wide eyes at the door, and tries again, but to no avail. He steps back and stares at the door, examining it, as if it would open by just staring.

I let out a low growl and stand a foot in front of the door. "I'm in no mood for games." I say, voice low, staring at the ground. I snap my head up and glare at it for a moment, before summoning my strength and taking a step back, kicking it with all of my might.

To my surprise, it opens and the door hits the wall with a loud bang. I quickly walk out the door and down the stairs, out the back door, and I slam it behind me. I pace back and forth on the grass, clenching and unclenching my fists and crying silently.

'_I'm tired of this thing. It needs to go, like, yesterday._'

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Gene's POV **

I watch as Melody steps back from the monitor, looking absolutely horrified. I'm not too sure what to think about her reaction, especially when she says, "Mom." that just goes on to confuse me, and probably everyone else in the room, more than what we already were.

Then, she started to cry. '_Oh, gosh, please! Not the tears!_' I thought as all I wanted to do was wrap her in my arms and console her. And that I was just about to do when she walked towards the door, about to go who-knows-where for who-knows-how-long. But, just as she was about to walk out, the door slams in her face. '_Oh, great._' I thought as I watched her get angry and try to open the door. '_Now we're stuck in here._'

I think that everyone was shocked when Lin couldn't kick the door down. He's a strong man, and that kick he gave it should have sent it flying off the hinges. And, I _know _everyone was shocked when _Melody _kicked down the door. I thought that if Lin couldn't do it, no one could. Boy, was I proved wrong.

After the door was open, she walked out of the room and down the hall with strikingly long strides. I heard her go down the stairs and slam the back door shut.

"I'll go after her." I said quietly, and I slowly made my way towards the door.

"Be careful, Gene." Ayako said. "She's in a dangerous mood." '_No kidding._' I thought as I simply nodded and went after her.

I went downstairs and to the back door, quietly opening it and shutting it behind me. Melody was pacing back and forth in front of a large oak tree, clenching her fists repeatedly.

"Melody?" I asked softly. She stopped pacing and looked up at me. It was then that I saw her tear-streaked cheeks and sadness in her eyes.

I gave a soft smile and walked over towards her. "What's the matter?" I asked gently, taking her hands in mine. "Why are you crying?" I resisted the urge to stroke her knuckles with my thumbs; instead focusing on her beautiful green eyes.

"My mother could do that." she said, and I assumed she was referring to the powers she had just used moments ago in the kitchen.

"She was a psychic?" I asked.

"Yes, and a very powerful one at that." she said, averting her eyes from mine. I couldn't help but feel that there was something she wasn't telling me.

"Is there something else?" I asked carefully. I saw the tears well up in her eyes once again as she whispered, "She died." I still felt that there was a piece of the puzzle missing. There has to be something she's not telling me.

"How?" I ask, not sure how she will react. She turns her gaze back to mine.

"She died protecting me." she said, and the tears fell from her eyes. "When people broke into our house, she took a bullet for me." she said, and I could barely interpret what she was saying because her voice was shaking so much. "And it's all my fault." she said before breaking down into a river of tears. I pulled her close to me and smoothed her hair down soothingly.

"It's not your fault." I said gently, trying to comfort her. It must have been horrible, watching your mother die right in front of you like that. But what about her father? I decided now was not the time to ask as I continued to console a sobbing Melody.

She turned her face into my chest and wrapped her arms around my waist. I rubbed her back soothingly and made 'shh' noises to try and calm her. She wasn't making any noise now, but her shoulders jumped up occasionally.

She soon pulled away and wiped her cheeks with her fingertips. "I'm sorry." she said, her voice shaking slightly.

"There's nothing to be sorry for." I said, smiling down gently at her.

"Yes, there is. I'm crying on and telling all of my problems to someone I hardly know." she said, looking up to meet my eyes.

"That's okay. I don't mind." I said. "You have every right to be upset." I said, trying to convince her.

"But still-" she said, but I cut her off.

"Hey, don't worry about it." I said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Everything's fine. If I were you I would have done the same thing." I said.

"May I ask you something?" I asked, thinking back to her managing to open the door. She nodded and I continued, "How did you kick that door down?" She shrugged her shoulders.

"I have no clue. My aunt always says I'm dangerous when I'm angry." She said with a small giggle. I let out a small chuckle, happy to see her feeling better.

"We were all shocked when you kicked down the door. Lin is the strongest out of all of us; and kicking down doors is his specialty." I said, and she giggled lightly at the last part.

"It's not like I meant to!" she said, holding her arms out.

"I think the idiot scientist especially was intrigued." I said to myself.

"What? Idiot scientist?" she said, trying to hold in laughter. "Who's that?"

"Wha-" I started, but slouched my shoulders exaggeratedly. "I said that last part out loud, didn't I?" I asked, although I knew the answer.

"Yes!" she said, giggling up a storm.

"Idiot scientist is one of my nicknames for my brother, Oliver." I said. "You can call him Oliver, Noll, Naru, or idiot scientist. Whichever you prefer." I said, making her laugh even harder.

"How-how did you come up with 'idiot scientist'?" she asked, snickering.

"Well, he acts like a scientist, and he's an idiot sometimes. Sooooo, I put the two together, and got 'idiot scientist'!" I said, smirking like I had just won a prize. I started laughing with her, and she laughed until tears started running down her cheeks from laughing so much.

"You're so silly!" she said, our laughter finally ceasing.

"I get that a lot." I said, stuffing my hands into my pockets and grinning.

We then locked eyes, and neither of us could break the gaze. I stared deep into her beautiful green eyes, frozen in place and unable to move.

"_Are you two having fun down there?" _I heard Noll say to me using telepathy.

"_Maybe. What makes you ask that?" _I asked him.

"_Look up." _he said simply. I did as he asked and directed my gaze upwards. What I saw made me yelp.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Melody's POV **

I continued to laugh as Gene talk about why he called his brother 'idiot scientist'. I was feeling a lot better, and I was thankful that he made me laugh and feel better again. Gene was a great guy, he's smart, funny, kind, handsome. . .

'_Wait a minute, why am I thinking that?_' I thought to myself as our eyes met, I couldn't tear my eyes away from his intense stare,and I felt like I was going to be swallowed by the wonder also known as his eyes.

He then looked up, and I heard him yelp and saw him jump back, glaring lightly at something. I spun around, nearly giving myself whiplash. I moved my eyes up to where Gene was looking, and my eyes went wide at the sight.

Naru- what I decided to call him- had the window up and was staring down at us, his elbows on the windowsill and his head in his palms.

"What the hell are you doing you stalker?" Gene shouted up at him, shaking a fist as his cheeks colored lightly. I held back a giggle as I watched the scene play out.

"Just watching the show. Please continue." Naru said, smirking.

"Just go crawl back into your cave and read, idiot scientist!" Gene shouted, and I could hear the playfulness in his voice. I saw that the corner of his mouth twitched upwards slightly, so slightly that I barely noticed.

"Stop calling me that." Naru said as he glared down at Gene.

"Okay." he said, then turned to me and said in a low voice, "I'm not gonna stop.", making me giggle.

"I _heard_ that!" Naru said as he slammed a fist down on the windowsill and pointed an accusing finger at Gene.

"Ooooo!" Gene said, wiggling his fingers in the air playfully. "The idiot scientist has special hearing powers!" he said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. I let out a laugh and hunched over, holding my stomach. I gasped and looked back up to see Naru glaring at Gene, then standing and walking out of sight.

I heard Gene break out into laughter, and I collapsed on the ground, laying flat on my back and holding my stomach.

"You two-" I gasped out. "are- so silly!" I said, rolling over onto my side to see Gene with his hands on his knees, hunched over and laughing.

Once our laughter had ceased, I stood from the ground and brushed my clothes off. "Feeling better?" I heard Gene ask me. I turned to face him, and gave a smile.

"Much better." I said, and he returned my smile. "Thank you."

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Aww! Such a cute little moment there with Melody and Gene! He just can't stop calling Naru 'idiot scientist'. How hilarious. **

**Hope you liked this chapter! **

**Remember to read, review, follow, and favorite! **

**Thanks for reading! **

**Byeeeeeeeeee! :) **


	4. Visiting the Past

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt! **

**But I DO own Melody, Aunt Valerie, and Uncle Jack! **

**Sorry I was late posting this! I got writer's block. Ugh. **

**Anyways, thanks to all of my followers and favoriters! **

**Enjoy! **

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

I sat on the couch, staring blankly at the wall. Ever since I found out I had powers like my mother did, I have been drifting in and out of my thoughts. Why haven't I realized I had inherited her powers before? Why did I have them in the first place? Just who am I?

The doorbell ringing brought me out of my thoughts as I stood and walked over to the door. Aunt Val was doing work in her office upstairs, and Uncle Jack was at work. So, besides SPR, I was the only one home.

I looked through the peephole, and I was surprised to see Ryu, an annoying and self-centered boy in my class, standing in the doorway. I opened the door and tried not to gag.

"Hello, Melody." he said in a supposed-to-be-seductive tone. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"How did you find my house?" I asked.

"I have my ways." he said coolly, eying me with lust in his eyes, making me mentally shudder.

"Yea. . ." I said slowly, looking at him as if he were crazy. "Did you need something, Ryu?" I asked, gripping the side of the door harder.

"Just a sweet kiss from my girl." he said, inching forward.

"I've already told you, I'm not your girl and I never will be." I said, moving the door to slam it in his face. He stuck out a hand and pushed it open. "What are you-" I started, but I was cut of by shock when he pushed me up against the wall and forced me to sit on the ground. He got on his knees in front of me and put a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm going to get what I came here for." he said, inching his face closer to mine. I reached a hand out and slapped him across the face with all of my might.

"Get away from me you-" I started, but screamed when I realized where his other hand was. _Up my skirt_. Of course I picked today to wear a skirt. Lucky me.

I screamed as loud as I could, and someone came running towards us and tackled Ryu to the ground. He gave him a hard punch in the eye, and Ryu yelled at him for attacking him. I pulled my skirt down to my knees and pressed my legs together, feeling violated in a way. "Keep your hands off of her!" He yelled. It was then that I realized the person was none other than Gene.

Everyone else had come downstairs to see what was going on, and Aunt Val knelt down beside me. "What happened?" she asked, concern lacing her voice. I felt my body shake, but I couldn't bring myself to say it. She noticed me shaking and wrapped her arms around me.

I looked over to see Gene dragging Ryu up off of the floor by his collar and throwing him out of the house, literally. "Don't even _think_ about coming back!" Gene yelled as he slammed the door, making the whole house shake, and locked it.

He then turned to me, crouched down in front of me, and asked, "He didn't hurt you, did he?" I shook my head and clutched the hem of my skirt, staring at his shoes. By now Mai was on my other side, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Come on, Melody." she said. "Let's get you to your room." I nodded and stood, grasping tightly onto Aunt Valerie's arm and shaking. I walked up the stairs to my room with Aunt Valerie, Mai, and Ayako.

"Are you alright?" Ayako asked as she sat down beside me on the bed.

"I'm fine." I said in a small voice.

"Don't worry. He's gone now." Mai said as she gave me a gentle hug.

"Who was he, sweetie?" Aunt Valerie asked.

"A boy in my class. He won't leave me alone." I answered, hugging Mai back.

"Oh." she said, rolling her eyes. "_That_ one." she sighed and crossed her arms, glaring at a wall. Then, I began to feel very tired, out of nowhere. I began to lean back, my eyelids getting heavy.

"Need. . . sleep." I mumbled before darkness surrounded me.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Gene's POV **

I sat and watched the monitors carefully, wearing an extra pair of headphones and sitting beside Lin. I heard the doorbell ring, and watched as Melody walked towards the door to answer it. '_I wonder who it is?_' I asked myself as the door opened.

I saw a boy about my age standing in the doorway. I didn't like the way he looked at Melody one bit. It looked as if he was undressing her with his eyes. I furrowed my brows and leaned closer to the specific monitor where they were standing.

I listened to their conversation, and when he mentioned kissing her, I involuntarily let out a low growl. I felt eyes on me, but ignored them and listened more intently. I was angry before, but I was really angry when he invited himself into her house. And when I saw him push her against the wall, I lost all control. I took my headset off, stormed out of the room, and made my way down the stairs to give him a piece of my mind. Then, I heard a scream.

I ran down the stairs as fast as humanly possible to see that kid, Ryu, touching Melody somewhere where he should not be. I ran over and tackled him to the ground, giving him a good punch in the eye. "Keep your hands off of her!" I yelled in his face, then gave him a slap that left a red mark on his cheek. I heard the footsteps of everyone else rushing to where we were, but I was too busy teaching someone a lesson.

I stood and grabbed the back of his collar, throwing him out of the house. "Don't even _think _about coming back!" I yelled as I slammed the door shut and locked it, making the whole house shake. I stared at the door for a moment, shocked by my own actions. What came over me?

I waved that concern aside and walked over to Melody, crouching in front of her. "He didn't hurt you, did he?" I asked gently. She shook her head, but didn't bring her eyes to mine. I just hoped I hadn't scared her with my violence.

I stood and watched as she went upstairs to her room with the girls, visibly shaking. I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead with my fingertips, a headache trying to start.

"What is wrong with you?" Noll hissed lowly from in front of me. I opened my eyes to see him and Lin standing in front of me, eyebrows furrowed in concern. "I've never seen you get so violent like that." he said, crossing his arms.

"If I knew, I would tell you. But, I don't know what came over me." I said, staring to walk back to base. I looked over my shoulder at them and said, "Do we have any aspirin?"

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Melody's POV **

I was in darkness. As far as I could see, nothing but black. It felt like I was floating, but my feet were flat on the ground. I turned and saw a woman with pale blonde hair. She was wearing a long, loose white nightdress and plain white flats. She turned, and I saw her face. I gasped at the sight. I saw kind green eyes, a sweet smile, and pale skin.

_Mom. _

"Hello, Melody." she said in a caring voice. My eyes widened and I took a step back. "It's me."

"M-Mom?" I stuttered as she slowly walked closer. "Is that r-really you?"

"Yes." she said as she was now right in front of me. She put a hand up and cupped my cheek, gently caressing it. "You have grown so much since I last saw you."

"Mom." I breathed as I brought my hand up to hers. "H-How are you here?" I asked tentatively.

"I'm your spirit guide." she said. "I've called you here to show you something. "It will help you figure out why you're being haunted." she said. I nodded, although I wasn't quite sure what she meant by 'spirit guide', or the knowledge of how she 'called me here'. She took my hand, and started to walk.

The blackness transformed into a scene. A scene of the past. I saw the moment about a month ago when I was in school. I watched intently as I heard the final bell ring, and students got up to leave and go home. I saw myself still sitting in my desk, putting away my things. Then, a boy comes up to me.

"Hello, Melody, my darling." he said smoothly, and I recognize the voice and face. Ryu.

"Don't call me that." I said as I stood and picked up my bag. We were now the only ones in the room. '_I remember this happening._' I thought as I continued to watch.

"Don't be like that." he said as he grinned and placed his hands on my waist, trying to pull me closer.

"Keep your hands to yourself!" I said as I slapped him.

"You're going to regret that." he said, glaring at me. "I'll give you one more chance. Either go out with me, or you will wish you had never turned me down." he said, his tone sounding dangerous.

"Whatever. Just leave me alone!" I said as I turned to leave. Ryu reached out and pulled a few strands of my hair out. "Ouch! That hurt!" I yelled, rubbing my injured scalp. He held the hair up to his face, and stared at me strangely. Then, he smirked and walked out of the room like nothing happened.

"What. . . just happened?" I asked. Then, the image began to fade and change into another one. The scenery was very different.

It looked as if it was someone's basement, and someone was in the occult. There were bookshelves lining the walls, filled with books about dark magic and spells. There was a satanic mark drawn on the ground, and candles were lit. In a small bowl in the center, was hair. _My _hair. Someone in a black robe walked in, carrying what looked like an old spell book.

He held the book with one hand, and help up his other hand. He began chanting something I couldn't understand, and a huge black mass appeared. He said something else I couldn't understand, and the mass went up and through the ceiling, disappearing. Then, the man pulled his hood back, revealing the smirking face of none other than Ryu.

Then, I put the pieces of the puzzle together. Ryu had cursed me. He c_ursed _me!

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

I woke up screaming bloody murder. First, my aunt came running in, followed by everyone else. I threw the sheets from my body and attempted to stand, but instead landed in a heap on the floor.

"Melody!" my aunt screamed, and helped me from the floor. "Melody, what on earth happened? Are you hurt?" she asked, about to panic.

"Aunt Val! I saw mom!" I yelled, very panicked.

"What?" she asked, her face paling slightly as she took a step back and stared at me, bewildered.

"She showed me something!" I said flailing my arms around. "She showed me all these things that happened in the past! She showed me Ryu! Aunt Val, Ryu cursed me! He frickin' _cursed _me; just because I wouldn't go out with his sorry ass!" I yelled, tears welling up in my eyes. "He put a frickin' _death _curse on me!" I screamed, starting to pace around.

"It all makes sense now!" I said, staring at the floor and I walked back and forth. "He's nothing but a no good, lying, self-centered, worthless jerk!" I screamed, clenching my fists and squeezing my eyes shut. I slammed my hands down on my desk and took deep breaths trying to calm myself. Then, I heard the door slam shut and I felt another presence in the room.

"Now is _not _the time." I said lowly, my tone deadly. I opened my eyes and stared down at the wooden table I was leaning on, focusing on the spirit. Suddenly, I felt my whole body pulse. My eyes widened as I felt the spirit getting angry and summoning his strength.

I slowly turned around, and saw a huge black mass floating in the air a few feet behind me. I stared at it, not daring to look away. Then, the mass got a little bigger. It lunged for me, and I saw three outstretched claws, ready to strike. I gasped and held up an arm, and it glowed blue. The next thing I knew, the spirit was retreating and the door opened again. I looked at the arm I had held up, and it was perfectly fine. I stared at it for a moment, dumbfounded.

I slowly walked towards my bed, and plopped down on it, staring at my arm. Did I just use more of my powers? Yes, yes I did.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Ooo, Melody's got a spirit guide. . . And it's her mother! **

**Gene's getting kinda violent, isn't he? What's up with him?**

**Well, Ryu the 'no good, lying, self-centered, worthless jerk' put a death spell on Melody! What's going to happen next? You'll find out. . . In the next chapter! **

**By the way, I've finally come up with Melody's 'unknown secret'. I think it's gonna be epic, and when the specific chapter is written, I hope you love it! **

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter! **

**Remember to read, review, follow, and favorite! **

**Thanks for reading! **

**Byeeeeeeeeee! :) **


	5. A Friend to Talk to

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt! **

**But I DO own Melody, Aunt Valerie, and Uncle Jack! **

**Thanks to borntoflyhigh for reviewing! **

**Enjoy! **

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

I stared at the wall, unmoving. I had been at a loss since this morning. Why would he curse me just for not going out with him? How immature. And how did I inherit mom's powers without realizing it sooner?

Just then, the doorbell ringed. I blinked, and continued to stare at the wall. There was no way in _hell _I was going to answer that door. Aunt Valerie came out of the kitchen and opened the door. I didn't bother turning to get a better look at who it was, so I just listened.

"Well, hello!" Aunt Valerie said. Who is she talking to?

"Hey, Aunt Val!" a cheery voice said. '_Natsuki?_' I turned my head to face the door, and there stood a girl my age and height, wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and a jacket. She had short, chocolate brown hair and matching eyes. "Where's the patient?" she joked. I arched an eyebrow and watched as Aunt Valerie gestured towards me and she came over, a backpack on her shoulders.

Natsuki was my best friend in school. We could always cheer each other up, no matter the circumstance. I was actually very glad to see her; I needed to hear her make stupid yet hilarious jokes to cheer me up.

"Hey, Melody!" she said, taking off her backpack and plopping down on the couch next to me. "What are you up to?"

"Staring at this wall." I said, facing it once more. "It's actually rather interesting." I joked, but didn't smile.

"No, that's not!" she said, poking my shoulder.

"Do you know of anything more interesting to do?" I asked, turning to her.

"Maybe." she said, reaching into her backpack. "You could instead, eat this." she said, holding up one of my favorite chocolate bars. She knows me so well.

My eyes widened as I stared at the chocolate, and my stomach rumbled. She laughed and handed it to me, and I ripped it open and took a bite.

"I can't believe how much you love sweets." she said, watching me eat the chocolate with an arched eyebrow.

"They're good!" I said between bites. She laughed and stared at me in amazement as I balled up the wrapper and tossed it in the trash can without getting up.

"That fast?" she asked, staring at me wide-eyed. "And you made that shot from way over here?"

"I've had practice with plenty of other chocolate bars." I said, smirking as she giggled. "And I thought you were supposed to be in America?" I asked, remembering her telling me about the trip planned for this week with her family.

"Flight got canceled." she said. "So we rescheduled to leave tomorrow and come back Tuesday. So I'll miss the first two days of school and possibly three next week." she said.

"Too bad you can't go to Texas." I said, smirking and crossing my arms. I was from Texas.

"I know. I wish we could visit your birthplace." she said sadly. "But I'm glad I got to spend more time with my sister!" she said, hugging me tightly. I let out a small laugh and hugged her back.

"So, what's with all of these cameras?" she asked, eying them.

"Aunt Val didn't tell you?" I asked.

"Well, yea! She told me everything. I just wanted your opinion. By the way, Ryu had better hope he doesn't see _me _anytime soon." she said, smirking. I shook my head and laughed a little.

"And you're not scared to be here?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows slightly.

"Well, a little." she said. "But nothing's gonna keep me from seeing my best friend!" she said, ruffling my hair. I smiled and little and fixed my hair back.

Out of nowhere, a book flies right past our heads. We both jump up and look to where the book fell.

"Looks like someone has a protest." I said, turning around once more. I feel something touching my leg. But, before I have time to acknowledge it, my legs are sent from under me and I fall to the ground, groaning in pain.

"Melody!" Natsuki shouted, rushing over towards me and helping me from the ground. SPR came running down the steps, and Natsumi held up her hands like she's surrendering to the police.

"Who are you people?" she yelled, looking thoroughly terrified.

"They aren't the police, idiot." I said, wincing in pain and sitting down on the couch. "They're SPR."

"Oh." she said, and slowly lowered her hands. "Hi!" she said, waving and giving a nervous smile.

"Are you alright, Melody?" Gene asked, sitting down beside me. His handsome face was a good distraction from the pain in my back.

"Peachy." I said sarcastically. "I'm great. How are you?" I asked, turning to him. Gene gave me a look, and I smirked a little. "I'm fine." I said, arching my back. My back popped in about ten different places, and I said, "Ow."

"Need me to hit your back?" Natsuki asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Please." I said, standing in front of her, bent over slightly. She held her hand back, and hit me as hard as she could; which was pretty hard.

I jerked up straight and yelled in pain. I groaned and sat back on the couch. "Thanks." I said simply as she sat down beside me.

"No problem," she said, giving a small smile.

I curse lowly under my breath and rub my temples. This ghost is getting rougher and rougher. It may end up seriously hurting me one day. I felt a terrible burning sensation on the small of my back, and I screamed in pain.

"What?" Natsuki screamed, jumping up from the couch. I hunched over to where my nose was touching my knees, and I couldn't find the strength to speak. "Oh, my God!" Natsuki screamed, and lifted up my shirt a little. I heard several gasps and felt everyone gathering around me.

"Three scratches!" I heard Mai yell.

"Just like on her arm." Naru said. I felt the blood slowly trickling down my back, and heard Ayako say, "Everyone back away so I can treat her!"

Natsuki sat on the couch and held my hands tightly as I turned to let Ayako treat the gashes on my back. I clenched my jaw and squeezed her hands tightly as she wiped away the blood, and applied some disinfectant to it.

As I felt her gently put a bandage over the cuts, I felt her back away, and I released Natsuki from my grip, tears clouding my vision. It began to feel better, and the tears cleared from my eyes. I took a deep breath, and carefully leaned back.

"I'm fine, everyone." I said, just above a whisper. I let out a long breath and leaned my head back, trying to calm myself.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Gene's POV **

I sat watching the monitors, thinking about what Melody said earlier. Could what she dreamed about be true? Did Ryu really curse her?

"Yasuhara said he will be here as soon as possible." Noll said as he hung up the phone. He had called him to ask him if he would come to help research. Noll was having a hard time figuring out this case. It was very mysterious indeed.

I sat and watched as Melody talked with her friend, Natsuki. Her aunt had called her up and asked her to come over to try and cheer Melody up. How sweet. They seem to be good friends, too.

I had already learned a lot about Melody just from listening to them talk. Melody loves sweets, she's from Texas, and she loves spending time with her friends. And, she's pretty. Wait, they said nothing about that. Why am I thinking that?

I heard a snicker in my head that was not my own. _"Noll!" _Isaid, angry that he had invaded my thoughts. He probably heard me thinking that Melody was pretty.

"_Yes?" _he answered.

"_How long have you been listening?" _I asked.

"_Long enough to know you think Melody is pretty."_ he said, with a small chuckle. I felt my cheeks heat up as I argued with him.

"_So what? She is." _I said, my cheeks growing hotter. Noll chuckled once more.

"_I have to agree with you there." _he said. _"But I think that there's someone else much prettier than her." _he said, and it sounded like he said it to himself.

"_Oooo, who?_" I asked, smirking.

"_You heard that?" _he asked. _"Dammit." _he said, and I turned my head to see him blushing ever-so-faintly and clutching the papers in his hands tightly. I turned back towards the monitors, my shoulders shaking slightly from holding in laughter.

"_If you get out of my head, I'll stay out of yours." _I said.

"_Deal." _Noll said, and I could no longer hear him. Good. I stared at the monitor with Melody's pretty face on it, and couldn't tear my eyes away.

I heard a faint chuckle, and turned to see Lin looking at me with a light smile and amusement in his eyes. I arched an eyebrow, and he said, "You can't keep your eyes off of one certain monitor." I felt myself blush, and he chuckled once more.

"Which monitor?" Hosho asked, coming up from behind us.

"Nothing!" I said, jumping up and standing in front of the monitors. "Don't worry about it!" I said, smiling nervously and pushing him over to Ayako. "Argue with her or something!" I said, pushing him into her and sitting back down. I heard Mai laughing, and I faced the monitors, keeping my eyes on the same one.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Melody's POV **

I was sitting on my bed in my room, beside Natsuki. We were talking about how much we disliked Ryu.

"Well, it's not that big of a surprise to me that he likes you." Natsuki said.

"Why is that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nearly every guy in school likes you!" she said, as if it was totally obvious.

"I don't think so." I said, crossing my arms and glaring lightly.

"Then what do you call these?" she asked, getting on her knees and reaching under my bed for something. She lifted up a cardboard box, and tipped it over onto the floor. Tons of letters and notes fell out and onto the floor. "Death wishes?" she asked sarcastically. Before I could respond, she said, "No. They're love letters!"

"So?" I asked, not thinking of anything else to say.

She sighed and picked up a stack of letters. She began chanting the names and she sent them flying in different directions. "Kei, secret, secret, Genku, Satoshi, secret, Takuto. . . Wait. . Takuto? Oh, wow. I thought he hated you. . . Makoto, secret, Yoshio, Daisuke, Hiro. . . Oh, my gosh! Hiro!" she said, dropping the other letters and holding up a specific one. "The most popular guy in school wrote you a love letter!" she squealed, ripping open the letter.

"It says: 'My dearest Melody, roses are yours, violets are yours, and I am yours. Love, Hiro.' Oh, my _gosh_! Melody!" she squealed, jumping up and down while hugging the letter to her chest. "Isn't he just the _sweetest _thing?" she asked, waving the letter in my face.

"Sure." I said, unenthusiastically. "But. . . I just don't like him that way." I said, sighing.

"You don't like_ anybody _that way, Melody." Natsuki said, giggling lightly.

I didn't respond, I simply sighed once more and looked back up at her. "None of them feel right." I said. "And I don't want to worry about that kind of stuff right now." I said, waving it away and sitting up against my pillow. "Anyways. . ." I said, staring off into space for a moment.

"Anyways," she said, smirking "how about those SPR guys? They're kinda cute." she said, giggling. I arched an eyebrow and looked at one of the many cameras in the room. '_She must not realize they can hear us._' I thought. '_Oh, well. I can have some fun_.'

"Yea, sure." I said, trying not to smile.

"That guy with the ponytail looks kind of edgy, yet hot." she said, smiling strangely and staring off into space. "And those twins. . . Oh, my gosh. Don't even get me started." she said, waving her hands in front of her and laughing. I snorted from holding in laughter, and sat up, reaching for the glass of water on my nightstand. Just as I was taking a gulp, she said "And that tall one. He's so mysterious-looking. . . And sexy." I spit out my water, making it spray into the air like a mist. I gave her a strange look, and she shrugged.

"I'm just saying!" she said, laughing. '_I wonder what SPR's thinking right now._'

"Natsuki. . ." I started, deciding to tell her there were microphones in the room.

"He's so tall and handsome!" she said, and hearts started floating around her head. "I wonder what it would be like if he was my husband. . ." she said dreamily.

"Natsuki!" I yelled, getting her attention. "They can hear you!" I shouted. Her face colored a brilliant shade of red, and she stuttered. "T-they can?"

"Yes!" I said, standing and walking towards a huge microphone beside one of the cameras. "What do you think _this _is?" I asked, gesturing towards it. "A decoration?"

She covered her cheeks with her hands and yelled, "Why didn't you tell me that earlier?"

"I thought you already knew!" I said, flailing my arms around.

"Are there any cameras or microphones in your bathroom?" she asked, looking at the door in my room leading to it.

"Of course not." I said.

"Then that's where I'll be." she said, walking inside. "Later!" she said as she shut the door. I collapsed onto the ground, laughing until my sides hurt.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Gene's POV **

I watched and listened as Melody and her friend, Natsuki, talked. I felt a pang of jealousy when I heard that Melody gets a lot of love letters. But why? I laughed until I cried when Natsuki called Lin 'mysterious and sexy'.

"What's so funny?" Mai asked, coming up behind us.

"Nothing." Lin said quickly, his cheeks pink.

"Don't lie, Mr. Mysterious." I joked, earning a light glare from Lin, making me laugh harder.

"What?" Mai asked, looking thoroughly confused. I handed my headset to Mai and rewound the video to the part where Natsuki compliments us. Mai laughed, and handed the headset back to me, sitting on the couch and trying to catch her breath. Naru arched an eyebrow, and I held out the headset for him to take.

He listened to what Natsuki said, and he snickered. "Mysterious and sexy. . ." he muttered. "Teenagers." he said, and walked back to his research, a smug smile on his face. '_He must have forgotten we're teenagers, too._'

I turned to Lin, whom was glaring daggers at me. I smiled, and held in a laugh. I would never look at Lin the same way again. '_Mysterious and sexy. . . Ha!_'

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Melody's POV **

I sat on the couch in the living room, reading a book. Natsuki had left a few minutes ago, still slightly embarrassed. Haha. Mai had informed my aunt, uncle, and me that they had called for another person to come out and help; she said he was coming to help research. Mai said he was our age, but she never told me his name.

Oh, and when Uncle Jack came home from work, he was not happy about what the others told him had happened while he was gone. He looked angrier than I'd ever seen him in a long time. He went to the kitchen and started cutting up a tomato vigorously; he does that when he's very angry, for some weird reason. All the while, he was pretending the tomato was Ryu, and he cursed it out like a sailor.

Then, the doorbell rang. I marked my place with a bookmark and heard the door opening, then I heard Naru say, "Hello, Yasuhara."

Yasuhara? Could it be. . . I stood and walked to where the front door was in view. Standing in the doorway was a young man, about my age, with glasses, dark gray eyes, black hair, and an innocent smile. I gasped and said, "Yasu?"

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**Cliffhanger! Ahaha, so sorry! **

**Yasu's finally showed up! Yay! **

**Do Melody and Yasu know each other? Probably. Find out how. . . in the next chapter! **

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter! **

**Remember to read, review, follow, and favorite! **

**Thanks for reading! **

**Byeeeeeeeeee! :) **


	6. Nightmares

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt! **

**But I DO own Melody, Aunt Valerie, and Uncle Jack! **

**Sorry that I kinda left you guys with a cliffhanger with the last chapter. . . * laughs nervously and scratches back of neck * Haha. . . **

**Thanks to borntoflyhigh and Dreamer372 for reviewing! **

**Also, thanks to the followers and favoriters of this story! **

**Enjoy! **

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As soon as I said his name, his eyes snapped to mine and widened. "Melody?" he asked tentatively. Naru's eyes went back and forth between us, bewilderment written all over his face.

"Is that really you?" I asked, smiling hopefully and staring at Yasu. Once I was right in front of him, I shyly reached up and pulled his glasses down, staring at his dark gray eyes. They were smiling. I pushed his glasses back up and wrapped my arms around his neck, beaming. "It really is you!" I exclaimed as I felt him hug me back.

"Who else would it be?" he asked, chuckling.

"I've missed you so much!" I said as I pulled back.

"I've missed you too, Melly." he said with a smile. Melly was a nickname he gave me. I gave him one more hug before I turned to Naru.

"Yasu and I were best friends in middle school." I said, and he nodded, his eyebrows going back to their original place. "He was the first friend I ever made when I first came here to Japan three years ago." I added. He was a year above me, but we went to the same high school- for one year. The next, I transferred to a different high school, where I met Natsuki. We tried to keep in touch, but schoolwork was keeping us both busy, and it had been a long time since we saw each other again.

"Wait. . ." Yasu said, concern and sadness crossing his face. "You're the girl that's cursed?" he asked, turning to me with worried eyes.

"You're just now realizing that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I forgot about it whenever I saw you again." he said, smiling nervously.

"Well, you always said I'm a magnet for trouble." I said with a small laugh, and he laughed too, only a little more nervously.

Then, Yasu said, "I promise I'll do everything I can to help you."

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

I was sitting in the living room, reading a book. Everyone else was upstairs, doing some form of work. Everything was silent. I could only hear the faint sound of my breathing and the crinkle of the pages when I turned them.

I heard a noise, and looked up to see the TV turning on. I arched an eyebrow and closed my book, setting it down on the coffee table. I was about to reach for the remote to shut it off, when images started flashing across the screen. From what I could make out, I saw me, and that strange hooded figure. It seemed to me that the figure was. . . torturing me. I stared wide-eyed at the screen, and I couldn't move. I reached for the remote to turn the TV off, but it had no effect on it. I cursed and threw the remote down, standing up.

Then, I saw something I never wanted to think about again. My mother's death. It was showing me my mother's death. "No." I whispered. "I don't want to see this." I watched as I went into my mother's room, to already see her awake and loading her gun.

"Mom." the thirteen year-old me whispered to my mother, tugging on her sleeve. "Someone's in the house."

"I know, sweetie." she whispered back, putting the magazine into the gun with an audible click. "I want you to call 911, and stay here. Do not follow me." she said, handing me her cell phone. I nodded, tears in my eyes.

"Melody?" she asked, only a few feet from the door. I looked up from the phone and raised an eyebrow. "I love you." she said with a sweet smile. And with that, she quietly exited the room. I saw myself pale, and I knew that I knew something was wrong. She loved me, but why say it now?

I watched as I quickly called 911, told them the situation, and hung up, sneaking out of the room despite my mother telling me to. I watched as I quietly walked down the stairs, and I heard the conversation between my mother and the burglar.

"Get out of my house." my mother's stern voice said. I could hardly pay attention to the rest of it because tears were obscuring my view. I didn't want to see this!

I watched with tears falling soundlessly from my eyes as the strange man looked away from my mother and saw me standing a few feet behind my mother. He pointed his gun at me and fired. My mother jumped in front of it and died on impact. I watched as I cried out for my mother, grabbing her gun and pointing it at the man, tears flowing down my cheeks.

What I failed to think about then was this: My mother didn't have to die. She could have easily deflected the bullet with her PK. Why didn't she? Did she somehow know that she was going to die? Is that why she told me she loved me?

I was hardly paying attention anymore. My ears were full of all the mean and hurtful comments I got from people after that. "Worthless." "Weak." "Your mother must hate you for making her die." "Look what you've done." "Just go jump in a ditch." "It's all your fault." I clutched the sides of my head and screamed bloody murder.

'_It's all my fault. . ._' I could hardly see anymore because everything was just a blur of color. No, I didn't see color. I didn't see my living room from the past, I didn't see the room I was just standing in. I saw darkness. It surrounded me. Everywhere I looked, it was nothing but a depressing void of darkness.

"No!" I screamed, seeing all of the painful memories playing before me like a film. "Stop it!" then, I saw the hooded figure, except it's hood was back, revealing the face that would forever haunt me.

"_I will kill you_." it said, inching closer.

"No!" I screamed, turning and running. But, I was only running further into the darkness. Only running deeper into my memories, all of the happy and sad ones. Mostly sad. Mostly of that night. That night my mother was taken away from me.

It had no trouble catching up to me. It grabbed me by the shoulder, it's claws digging into my skin like razor sharp blades. I cried out as it spun me around, it's face right in mine. I screamed as it's hand came closer to my face, ready to kill me. '_Someone, please help me!_'

"Melody!" I heard a voice yell. My eyes snapped open to see Gene hovering above me, concern etched into his face. I blinked up at his face a few times, and I burst into tears. I threw my arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder.

I only just registered that I was laying on the couch, and my right shoulder stung like hell. My cheeks were wet with many tears, and there were more to come. Gene gently wrapped his arms around me, and soothingly rubbed my back.

After a few minutes, I finally pulled back, wiping my tear-streaked face with my hands. I hissed in pain and put a hand on my shoulder. I felt something wet, and held the hand out. It was covered in blood. I let out a shaky breath and held the hand further from me, as if it were infected.

I saw Ayako beside me with her first aid kit. She pulled my sleeve down off of my shoulder and let out a small gasp. It must have looked horrible. She began to clean the wound, and I clenched my jaw to keep from yelling in pain. She put a bandage over it, and she and Mai walked with me to my room to put on a different shirt, since the one I had on was torn and covered in blood.

"Can I. . . tell you something?" I asked as I smoothed down the clean shirt over my hips.

"Sure." Mai said, sitting down on the bed.

"Of course." Ayako said, sitting beside her.

I slowly and painfully told them about what I saw. I refrained from telling them exactly how my mother died; I couldn't do that just yet. A few tears slid down my cheeks in the process, and I quickly wiped them away. I had cried enough tears for a while. By the time I had finished, Mai had tears of her own in her eyes, and Ayako looked close to tears.

"I can't even begin to imagine how hard this is for you." Mai said, wiping a tear from her cheek.

"This is taking such a toll on you; physically and emotionally." Ayako said, staring at the floor.

"I know it won't be easy. . ." I started, twisting my fingers together. "but I have to try to stay strong. Or else. . . Well. . . I think we all know." I said, not able to bring myself to say the consequences. There's a long and painful road ahead of me. I know it.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Gene's POV **

I sat in my usual place in front of the monitors. Ayako and Hosho were arguing about something- as usual- and they were trying to get Mai to pick a side. Noll and Yasu were busy researching. Yasu had been a big help, but there were some things even he couldn't find. Noll was considering calling John and asking him to try to simply exorcize this. . . thing.

I glanced over at Lin, and he seemed to be bored out of his mind. I could tell by the way his shoulders were slumped ever-so-slightly. Also by how he was staring blankly at the monitors. I heard a noise in the headsets, and looked to the screen with Melody on it.

She had looked up from her book, and it sounded as if a TV was on. The remote was untouched. She closed her book and reached for it, then she froze. I couldn't tell what exactly was going on, because we didn't have a camera facing the TV. She picked up the remote and tried to shut it off, but to no avail. She cursed- how lady like- and threw the remote down.

She froze and whispered, "No. I don't want to see this." '_See what?_' She stood staring at the TV, and she soon started to silently cry. '_Why is she crying?_'

Then, I heard a younger girl's voice whisper, "Mom. Someone's in the house." '_That must be the TV._' I thought as I stared intently at Melody and listened carefully.

"I know sweetie." a soothing woman's voice said. I heard the sound of a gun loading. '_What the hell is happening?_' I thought. "I want you to stay here, and call 911. Do not follow me." she said. I heard someone take a few steps faintly, and it stopped. "Melody?" the voice asked.

'_Melody!?_' my mind asked, and I furrowed my eyebrows. '_Is she talking to a younger version of' Melody? Is this a scene of the past?_' my mind raced, asking more questions and getting no answers.

"I love you." the woman said, and I could tell she was smiling, '_Why would she say 'I love you'?_' I heard the little girl tell the police about the situation- whatever it was- and I faintly heard her hang up the phone. Then, I listened carefully as I heard someone walking, down what I assumed stairs by the footfall pattern.

"Get out of my house." I heard the woman say, but she sounded much meaner than before. I heard a male voice speak, and he said something about a little girl. I heard a gunshot, and the younger version of Melody screaming for her mom. '_Mom? Was that her mother? Did she die? Did this really happen? What's going on!?_'

I looked at Melody, and tears were flowing down her cheeks. Her face was pinched in pain, and she was clutching the sides of her head. I took off my headset and went to the door, but it slammed shut in my face.

"Dammit." I cursed under my breath. I heard Melody scream, and I felt myself pale immensely. '_If that bastard hurts her. . ._' I thought as I watched Lin try to kick the door down, but it didn't work.

The door opened on it's own, and I dashed out of the room. I took the stairs two at a time, and I stopped at the bottom. Melody was on the floor, barely moving. I rushed over to her and crouched beside her. I rolled her over onto her back, and she was crying. I shook her, but she didn't open her eyes. '_She must be asleep._'

I gently picked her up and laid her down on the couch. By then everyone was in the room and standing around us. I softly called her name, trying to wake her up. Out of nowhere, a red patch formed on one of her shoulders. I stared wide-eyed at it, and called her name louder.

Then, she screamed. I jumped, as well as everyone else in the room. Alarm filled my veins. I stood up and bent down a little, then shouted, "Melody!"

Her eyes flew open, and she stared up at me. She blinked a few times, then started to cry. She threw her arms around my neck and sobbed. I wrapped my arms around her and rubbed her back gently.

When she finally pulled away a few minutes later, I eyed her with concern. She hissed and put a hand up to her shoulder, and when she brought it away, it was coated in red. '_I almost forgot about that._' I thought. In a flash, Ayako was kneeling beside her, kit in hand. When she gently pulled her sleeve off of her shoulder, we all gasped.

There were three scratches, just like before. Except, this time, they didn't look like the clean cut she had before. It was jagged, and as if the spirit gad _grabbed_ her shoulder, instead of simply scratching it. And, it was covered in crimson red blood.

I watched as Ayako treated her wound, and I turned to look at the others. Her aunt and uncle were pale and holding each other. Yasu was pale as well, and his eyes were wide with concern. Hosho had an arm wrapped around Mai's shoulders, both looking concern and worried. Lin was stoic faced, but I could tell he too was worried. Noll's eyebrows were furrowed, and he looked a mixture of angry and worried- like I felt.

Once Melody, Mai, and Ayako left the room, Noll sighed in frustration and marched upstairs, saying he was going to call John. I turned to Melody's aunt and uncle, whom looked confused. I spoke up and explained.

"By John he means John Brown, a Catholic priest." I started. "John comes out to help us sometimes; he can perform exorcisms. He's been considering calling him to ask him to come by, in hopes that we can simply exorcise the spirit." they nodded, and slowly went back upstairs to do their work. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

We all walked back up to base, and we found Noll just hanging up the phone. "He said he will be here early tomorrow morning." Noll said.

Just then, Ayako came in. "Where's Mai?" Hosho asked.

"She's with Melody." she said, sounding a bit sad. She kept her eyes on the floor, and it looked as if she had been crying.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"Melody told Mai and I what happened." she said softly, not bringing her eyes up. "She's been through a lot. . ." she said, trailing off.

"Like what?" Noll asked emotionlessly.

Then, Ayako relayed the story to us about what happened to Melody before we came downstairs. I almost cried myself. It must have been horrible to have seen your own loving mother get shot right before your eyes.

"Melody told me her mother died." Yasu said quietly. "But I had no idea she died like that." he looked close to tears himself.

"What were her parents names?" Noll asked suddenly. '_What do her parents names have to do with this?_'

"I have no idea." Ayako answered.

"What makes you ask?" I asked him aloud.

"The name 'Hollingberry' suddenly sounds familiar." he said, putting a hand to his chin in thought.

"Familiar? But how?" Mai asked.

"I have no idea." Noll answered, sounding far-off. I scanned my brain. No Hollingberrys came to mind. Who could he be thinking about? "Since the subject may be sensitive to her right now, I'll just research it." he said, walking over to his computer. '_What is he hoping to find?_'

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Sorry this chapter took so long! I've been busy. . . **

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter! **

**Remember to read, review, follow, and favorite! **

**Thanks for reading! **

**Byeeeeeeeeeeeeee! :)**


	7. The Road Ahead

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt! **

**But I DO own Melody, Aunt Valerie, Uncle Jack, and the others! **

**Chapter 7! **

**Thanks to all of my followers and favoriters! **

**Enjoy! **

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

I was in the kitchen, washing my hands and staring out the window. I was just about to shut the water off when I noticed it start to turn a strange shade. I stared at it, and it became crimson red. _Blood red._ I gasped and took a few steps back. I looked at my hands, and instead of seeing water, I saw blood. Blood was coming out of the faucet, not water.

"Aunt Val!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. She and Uncle Jack came running in from the living room.

"What's the matter?" my uncle demanded.

"Blood!" I yelled, holding up my hands. They were dripping with the red liquid.

"Sweetheart, that's water." Aunt Valerie said. Uncle Jack walked to the faucet and stuck his hand under the liquid, then held up his hand.

"See? It's water!" he said, shutting the faucet off with his other hand. His hand was covered in red.

"No! It's blood; I swear!" I yelled. I noticed red on the wall behind them, and stepped to the side so I could see it. Written in blood were the words: 'Your mother's blood'.

I screamed, and held my head with my hands, entwining my fingers in my hair. My aunt and uncle whipped around and looked at the wall, but apparently they couldn't see what I saw. I walked up to the wall and stared at it in horror.

I saw something out of the corner of my eye, and I turned. There, standing a few feet in front of me was my mother. She was wearing the white nightgown she died in, and there was a hole in her chest. The surrounding fabric was stained red. Her face was incredibly pale. I gasped and took a step back. Her eyes were lifeless, and she was glaring daggers at me.

"All your fault." her distorted voice said.

"That's not my mother!" I screamed in terror. "That's not her!" then, I saw the hooded figure standing beside her. I could see his mouth, and it was twisted in an evil grin.

"Stop it!" I yelled at it. Then, the image of my mother began to become distorted. Her eyes weren't green anymore. They were jet black. Even the whites in her eyes were pitch black. Lifeless. My eyes widened in horror.

I was spun around, and the next thing I knew, I was slapped. So hard that my head turned to the side and my cheek stung. I blinked, and looked at the wall. No blood. My hands. Water. Thank goodness. I looked forward to see my aunt standing there, looking very worried.

"Thank you." I said quietly, taking a step forward and wrapping my arms around her. "I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to apologize for." Uncle Jack said, gently patting my head. When I released Aunt Valerie, I walked to the living room, practically in a daze. I sat down on the couch, lacing my hands in my lap, staring blankly ahead.

A few minutes later, Yasu and Hosho came down the stairs. "Are you okay, Melody?" Yasu asked softly, sitting down beside me. I nodded blankly. He wrapped my arms around my shoulders, pulling me close.

"I'm sorry all this is happening to you." he said, gently rubbing my arms.

"Me too." I said quietly. "Thanks." I said.

"No problem." he said, pulling away and smiling. I noticed Hosho standing a few feet to the side. He was smiling gently at me. I smiled back, and let out a deep breath.

"I'm fine now." I said.

"You don't look like it." Yasu said, poking my cheek. After a few seconds, he said, "The big boss wanted us to come get you and your aunt and uncle. He wants to talk to you guys." I nodded.

"Big boss?" I asked as I stood, and Yasu stood with me.

"That's what I call Naru." he said with a grin. I smiled and nodded.

"Come on, Hosho, honey!" Yasu said in a girly voice, skipping over to him and grabbing onto his arm. Hosho shuddered and tried to pry him off.

"Let go!" he said.

"Aww, but why?" Yasu asked, staring at him with puppy dog eyes.

"This is very uncomfortable for me!" Hosho said, glaring at him.

"Would you be more comfortable with me in the bedroom?" he asked seductively. Hosho blushed and shook like a leaf. I burst out in laughter. I clutched my stomach, wiping away tears from my eyes. Yasu could always make me smile and laugh. '_I think he did that just to make me laugh._' I thought as I sighed. How sweet. He noticed I was sad and tried to make me smile.

"Thank you, Yasu." I said, smiling at him. He smiled sweetly back at me.

"I'm glad I could make you smile again." he said with a smile of his own.

We fetched my aunt and uncle, whom were still in the kitchen, and went upstairs to SPR's base. When we opened the door, I saw Ayako and Mai sitting on the couch talking about something, Gene and Lin by the monitors wearing headsets, and Naru at a table with two laptops and lots of papers. Everyone looked up at us when we entered.

"Targets captured." Yasu said as the door shut behind us.

"Targets captured?" I asked, looking up at him. His eyes widened in fake shock, and he looked the other way, whistling nonchalantly and adjusting his glasses. I giggled, and he faced me again, smiling. He did that just to make me laugh. Again. He's always joking around like that. He could always make me feel better, no matter the situation at hand.

"Good." Naru said, and stood, walking around the table to stand in front of it. "I asked you to come here because we have some concerns." he said, looking from me to my aunt and uncle. His gaze was mostly fixed on me, though. I nodded slowly, signaling for him to continue.

"It seems that this entity is mostly targeting you, Melody." he said. I suppressed a sigh. '_No duh._' "We have noticed that it isn't only attempting to affect your physical state, but your mental state as well. It mostly seems to attack when you are alone. Therefore, one of us will remain with you at all times, preferably with someone who can protect you when the need is called for." I tried not to shake. What scared me was that he said 'when' the need is called for; not 'if '.

"Whoever is chosen will remain with you at all times, and will stay in your room with you at night. That is, if it's alright with you." he said. I nodded.

"Of course." I said.

"Any volunteers?" Naru asked, looking around at the SPR members. After a few seconds that seemed like forever, Gene spoke up.

"I'll volunteer."

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

I was in my bathroom, getting ready for bed. I had just put on my clothes, consisting of an old T-shirt from Texas, soft gray leggings, and ankle socks. I now was brushing my hair, getting all of the tangles out. I looked at myself once more in the mirror, and I could have sworn I saw a shadow in the corner. When I turned around, there was nothing there. I tried to ignore it and finished getting ready for bed.

Once I had finished, I turned out the light, closed my eyes, and opened the door. "Are you dressed?" I asked.

"Yes." a voice said. I opened my eyes to see Gene slumped in a chair, his hands laced over his stomach. He was wearing a T-shirt and drawstring pants. He smiled softly at me. I returned his smile and walked towards my bed. I looked at the clock. It was just past ten.

I sat down and looked over to Gene; whose eyes were already closed. But, he wasn't asleep yet. "Goodnight, Gene." I said with a small smile.

"Goodnight, Melody." he said, and he gave a small smile as well, as if he had known I had smiled. I was about to turn the light out, but I looked back at Gene. '_That must be uncomfortable. . ._'

"Gene?" I asked.

"Yes?"

"Isn't that uncomfortable?"

"It's fine." he said, moving a little in his seat.

"No, it's not." I said. "There's enough room on this bed for two people." I said.

"It's alright, Melody." he said, opening his eyes and looking to me. "You can have the bed."

"Sleeping slumped over in a chair like that isn't good for you." I argued, crossing my arms over my chest. "Now get over here." he chuckled, and slowly stood.

"If you insist." he said, and walked over to the other side of the bed.

"Just don't do anything perverted." I said, glancing at him over my shoulder. He didn't seem like the type to try anything, but you can never be sure in the screwed up world of today. Besides, I hardly knew him.

"I promise I won't." he said with a small smile as he got under the covers. He turned his back to me and laid he head on the spare pillow I had on the bed. "Goodnight."

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

I woke up at some point during the night. I glanced at the clock on the table beside my bed. It read 3:21. I caught a glimpse of a shadow somewhere in front of me. A shiver ran through my body. I scooted back a bit, and I saw it come near the bed. Remembering Gene behind me. I reached back and gently shook him.

"Gene." I hissed. I felt him move a bit, and he rolled over.

"What is it?" he asked sleepily. By then the shadow was at my edge of the bed. He sat up a little, and I knew he saw it. We both remained still and watched with bated breath.

Then, the shadow lifted up the covers. Gene put a hand on my waist and pulled me a little closer to him. The shadow got on the bed and under the covers, laying down. There was an indention in the mattress where it was, and the sheets were lifted up. There was also an indention in the pillow where it's head was. There was a black silhouette of a person, but nothing else was visible. It was as if a real person were laying there, minus the fact it had no face. Just black. I was praying for it to go away, feeling my heartbeat in my stomach.

"Face me." Gene whispered. I turned over and faced him. He was laying down once again. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into him. "Shh." he whispered, barely loud enough for me to hear. Our noses were nearly touching, and I felt my cheeks heat up from the close proximity. I did as he told me and focused on breathing. I couldn't be sure, but it looked as if the tip of his visible ear was red.

We kept our eyes locked on each other, and Gene kept his hands laced together on my back. The minutes that ticked by felt like hours. Eventually, the mattress lifted up once more and I could no longer feel it's presence. Gene released me from his hold and I rolled onto my back, staying near him.

I pressed a hand to my chest, taking deep breaths. "Thank gosh." I said. I heard Gene chuckle.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine. Besides the fact that I just nearly got my soul scared out of me." I said. Gene chuckled again, and he laid on his back beside me.

"It's okay now." he said. "It's gone."

"For now." I said, letting out a deep breath. "Let's try to get some sleep."

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Gene's POV **

I awoke to see Noll standing in front of me. He was looking down at me, arms crossed and glaring. The first morning light was streaming through the somewhat transparent curtains on the window behind him. It gave his face a dark shadow, making it seem more scary than what it was. I smiled innocently.

"_Hey, bro." _I said telepathically and casually.

"_What the hell are you doing?" _he asked.

"_Nothing. Just laying here." _I said, putting my elbow on the pillow and resting my head in my palm.

"_Gene."_ Noll said sternly. _"Why are you in bed with Melody?"_ I felt my cheeks heat up slightly.

"_She let me! And besides, I didn't do anything to her. Just how low do you think I am?" _I asked, glaring lightly at Noll. My glare was no match for his.

"_Get out of her bed." _he ordered.

"_What if I don't want to?" _I asked, smirking lightly.

"_I'll drag you out." _he said. _"Even if she let you, you should have let her have the bed to herself. People could get the wrong idea. Like I did." _

"_She wouldn't take no for an answer!" _I said. _"And who was I to argue with her?" _

"_Whatever. Just get up." _

"_No." _

"_I'll make you." _

"_I won't go without a fight. And you don't want to wake Melody up, do you?" _

"_. . ." _

"_Well?" _

"_. . . Have it your way." _and with that, Noll 'calmly' walked out of the room, softly shutting the door behind him. I chuckled lightly and turned the other way. Melody was laying on her back, near her edge of the bed. She was sleeping soundly.

'_She's so cute when she's sleeping._' I thought, staring at her pale, sleeping face and smiling softly. '_Like an angel._' After a moment, the tips of my ears were burning hot. '_What am I thinking? Watching girls sleep. . ._' I turned my back to her and soon fell back asleep.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Melody's POV **

When I woke up, I was slightly shocked to see another body in my bed. Then, I realized it was only Gene. I stared at his broad back as I remembered the event of last night. '_That's right. The entity decided to join us._' I thought as I slowly got out of bed, careful not to wake Gene. I was just about to get out some clothes to change into when I noticed a cardboard box sitting by the door.

'_How did that get there?_' I thought as I stared at it. I walked over to the other side of the bed and gently shook Gene's shoulder.

"Gene." I said. He groaned, and his eyes fluttered open. He rubbed his eyes and looked up at me.

"Morning." he said with a small smile.

"How did that get in here?" I asked, pointing behind him at the box. He sat up and looked to where I was pointing.

"No idea." he answered, slowly getting out of the bed. I slowly and carefully walked over to the box, with Gene right behind me. I stood by the box and leaned over it, slowly pulling back the flaps. Inside, I found my old track trophies and medals.

"You run track?" Gene asked as he carefully examined a trophy he had pulled out.

"I used to." I said. "Back in America, I was my school's track star. When I moved here to Japan, I didn't join the track team. But, I still sometimes go for runs in the park or run marathons." I said with a small smile. My mother always told me my dad loved to run. I was a lot like my mom, but I had inherited some traits from my dad, too.

"Amazing." he said, giving me a small smile.

"My classmates would sometimes call me 'Lightning Girl' instead of my actual name." I said with a small laugh.

"Cool." Gene said as he handed me back the trophy, and I carefully placed it back in the box.

"The odd thing is, I have no idea how this got here. This box was up in the attic." I said, raising an eyebrow at the object as I shut it.

"That is strange." Gene said. His eyebrows furrowed, and he looked as if he was thinking about something.

I picked up the box and carefully put it down by my closet, then said, "Oh, well."

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

I was sitting in the living room with Gene, Aunt Valerie, Yasu, and Ayako. We weren't doing much, just talking about this and that. As it turns out, my aunt and Ayako have a lot in common. They both love fashion. Then, out of nowhere, I heard a sweet sound.

My eyes widened and my heart raced as I recognized it. My mom was singing. It filled the room like oxygen. It was so beautiful. She was singing the song she always used to sing me when I was sad or scared. It didn't have words, it was just 'oo's and 'ah's. But, it was still a very beautiful song.

"What is it, Melody?" Ayako asked, noticing my shocked expression.

"Don't you hear it?" I asked, looking at everyone in the room. They all shook their heads. '_How can they not hear it?_'

A calm sensation came over me, and I felt immediately relaxed. Just like I always did when mom sang that song. I rested my back on the couch, and breathed slowly, smiling softly. "Mom." I whispered. I couldn't tell where it was coming from; it was all around me. I closed my eyes and immediately fell asleep.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

I once again found myself surrounded by darkness. I slowly looked around, and immediately found my mother. She was wearing the same thing I last saw her in. Her white nightgown. We smiled at each other, and she walked up to me.

"Hello again, Melody." she said with a smile. I smiled back, and said "Hello, mom." She pulled me into a hug, and I wrapped my arms around her.

"Why have you called me here?" I asked as we pulled away.

"I just wanted to tel you to stay strong." she said, giving her signature sweet smile. I smiled back, and she gently caressed my cheek. "Never lose hope. The road ahead is dark and tough, but there will be positive outcomes. You just have to stay strong. And know that your father and I will always be watching over you. We love you very much. Don't ever forget that." then, she bent down and placed a gentle kiss on my forehead.

"Now, it's time for you to wake up, Melody."

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Naru's POV **

I stared in shock at my laptop screen. '_I knew the name Hollingberry sounded familiar to me._' I thought as I wrote down my findings.

'Full name: Daniel Scott Hollingberry

Gender: male

Height: 6'1"

Age (at death): 29

Blood type: A

Date of birth: 1/24/1969

Place of birth: Brighton, England

Date of death: 5/8/1998

Place of death: Arlington, Texas

Cause of death: Hit by car driven by drunk driver

Spouse: Jennifer Crystal Ford Hollingberry (m. 1994-1998)

Children: (1) Melody Danielle Hollingberry

Profession: Paranormal researcher

Business: Northern Texas Paranormal Research; NTPR

Full name: Jennifer Crystal Ford Hollingberry

Gender: female

Height: 5'5"

Age (at death): 41

Blood Type: O

Date of Birth: 7/18/1969

Place of birth: Dallas, Texas

Date of death: 9/3/2010

Place of death: Arlington, Texas

Cause of death: Bullet wound to chest

Spouse: Daniel Scott Holingberry (m.1994-1998)

Children: (1) Melody Danielle Hollingberry

Profession: Psychic

Business: Northern Texas Paranormal Research; NTPR

Full name: Melody Danielle Hollingberry

Gender: female

Height: 5'4"

Age: 16

Blood Type: A

Date of birth: 4/2/1997

Place of birth: Arlington, Texas

Profession: Highschool student

School: Tokyo Public Highschool'

When I finished, writing, I looked at my findings for a few minutes longer. Daniel Hollingberry was a well-know paranormal researcher. He was born and raised in England. He came to America after finishing college to start his own business. There, he met the well-known psychic Jennifer Ford. They worked together, and eventually fell in love. They also had a child together. One day on his way to work, he was hit by a car, dying on impact and leaving his wife and thirteen month old child behind.

Jennifer was heartbroken, but raised their child on her own. When their daughter was thirteen, their house was broken into and she suffered a bullet wound to the chest. Her daughter somehow managed to hold off the intruder until police arrived. She then moved to Japan, where her only living relatives were; her mother's sister and her husband. She was never heard from again. Until now, that is. Because I now know who her parents were.

One thing didn't make sense to me: Jennifer Hollingberry was a _very_ powerful psychic. She could have easily prevented her death. Why didn't she?

"How interesting." I said to myself as I sat back in my chair, holding a hand up to my chin.

"What's interesting, Naru?" Mai asked.

"Melody's parents were very well-known in the paranormal profession world when they were alive." I answered, not looking up.

"Wow, really?" Hosho asked.

"Who were her parents?" Mai asked.

"Daniel and Jennifer Hollingberry, whom lived in America." I said, finally looking up. "Her father was a great paranormal researcher, and her mother was a very powerful psychic. I can now see where Melody gets her talents from."

"Amazing." Hosho said.

"Have you heard of them before, Lin?" I asked.

"Yes." Lin said. "I've heard a lot about them."

Then, we heard the doorbell ring. "That must be John." I said, standing up. "Let's get on with this exorcism."

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Oooooo, Melody and Gene are sharing a bed. . . * wiggles eyebrows suggestively * Hahaha, nothing like that is going to happen. So don't get your hopes up. Sorry to disappoint! **

**Naru's POV was mostly just to fill you guys in on Melody's parents. **

**Hope you enjoyed! **

**Remember to read, review, follow, and favorite! **

**Thanks for reading! **

**Byeeeeeeeeee! :) **


	8. The Exorcist Has Arrived

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt! **

**But I DO own Melody, Aunt Valerie, Uncle Jack, and my other OCs! **

**Thanks to all of the people that support this story! :) **

**John has arrived. . . Exorcism time! **

**Enjoy! **

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

I woke up to the sound of a doorbell ringing. I snapped my eyes open. I was still sitting on the couch, and Gene and Aunt Valerie were still beside me. "Wha-" I said as I jolted up into a sitting position.

"Ooo." Gene said, putting a hand to his chest. "You scared me."

"I'm sorry." I said, laughing nervously.

"That's alright." Gene said with a soft smile.

"Hey, John!" Ayako said, opening the door. "It's great to see you again!" I arched an eyebrow and leaned forward, hoping for a better look at the door. When Ayako stepped aside, I saw a young man with blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Hello, Ayako!" the man said cheerfully. He had a strange accent. It sounded Australian to me, but I couldn't be sure. He stepped inside and set the bag he was carrying down on the floor. He was dressed in Catholic priest robes.

I stood up and walked over to them. "Hello, sir!" I greeted. "It's nice to meet you."

"Hello!" he returned with a happy smile. He was short for a man. He was my height; and I'm 5'4". "I'm John Brown, a Catholic priest. Are you the girl Naru told me about?"

"Perhaps." I said. "What did he say?" I asked with a mischievous smile.

"Well, he said your name was Melody." he started. I nodded in conformation. "He said you were supposedly 'cursed'. . . Oh!" he said, his eyes lighting up with mischief. "And he told me that Gene thinks you're very-"

"_OKAY_!" Gene suddenly yelled, coming up beside me and smiling nervously. "Now that introductions are over, why don't we start with the exorcism?"

"Very what, Gene?" I asked, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh. . ." he said, blushing and looking away. He seemed to be very uncomfortable. I giggled at his reaction. '_But what was John going to say?_' "C-Can we just start? Please?" he asked tentatively, slowly backing away and glaring at John and Naru- whom had entered the room with the others. They just smiled innocently in return, making everyone laugh.

"If you insist." John said with another innocent smile. He pulled out a Holy Bible, and opened it up to a bookmarked page.

'_I hope this works._' I thought as John walked into the center of the room, reading a passage of the bible and splashing holy water into the air as he spoke. I saw the dark mist in the corner of the room. Everyone else seemed to notice it too. It came towards me, slowly and steadily. I stared at it, wide-eyed. I couldn't move. I was frozen.

Then, it slapped me. It hit, kicked, and punched me. I was under attack. The exorcism didn't seem to have any effect on it. I screamed in pain as I collapsed on the floor.

I felt arms around me, pulling me close to whoever it was. My cheek was pressed against a man's chest. Then, I felt someone else press their body against mine from behind, the two people protecting me. I clutched onto the collar of the person in front of me and panted for air. I heard a distorted man's voice yelling in pain. It was the entity. The exorcism was finally having an effect.

I managed to look up at the face of whoever was in front of me. I saw Gene. When he noticed me looking at him, he turned his head away from John and looked down at me, concern etched into his face.

"Are you alright?" he asked. I nodded, and he gave a small and gentle smile. I managed to turn my body to the side, and I looked to the person behind me. It was Naru. Gene and Naru were clutching each other, with me sandwiched between them. They were protecting me.

"Thank you." I said to both of them. They nodded, and slowly released me. We helped each other to our feet, and we continued to watch John perform the exorcism. Gene and Naru still remained beside me.

Then, it lunged for John.

I acted on instinct. I jumped in front of John, whom had paused and stared at the shadow in fear. The mist entered my body, and didn't exit. I gasped and fell to the ground.

"Melody!" Aunt Valerie screamed, rushing to my side.

"Get away!" I shouted as best as I could through the pain. I laid on my back and gasped for air, yelling and screaming in pain. It was trying to take over my body. It hurt so bad. My whole body was shaking. I screamed loudly and clutched my head, where I heard voices telling me to give up.

_'You're so useless.' 'Just give up already.' 'You're going to die anyway.' _

"No!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. I thrashed on the floor, and I stood up, but not of my own accord.

I pressed a palm to my forehead, and hunched over slightly. It felt like there was a fire lit inside of my body. I was trying to fight it, trying to keep from getting possessed. I screamed one last time, and fell to the ground, darkness surrounding me.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Gene's POV **

As John was just beginning the exorcism, I thought about what he almost told Melody what I thought about her. He was going to say 'pretty', but I managed to cut him off before he said it. Damned idiot scientist, always going around blabbing about my personal thoughts.

Then, I saw a dark mist hovering in the air in a corner. I knew it was the thing terrorizing Melody. I despised that thing so much because of what it's done to her. I just wanted her to be safe.

It came closer and closer to Melody. I kept my eyes glued on it. Then, it began attacking her. I just wanted to punch the entity myself. How _dare_ it harm her.

I quickly acted, rushing over to her fallen body on the ground and pulling her close, trying to protect her from the entity. Noll came up from behind Melody and wrapped his arms around me, so we were forming a shield for her.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Melody looking up at me. I turned my attention from John to her, and asked "Are you alright?" I was relieved when she nodded. Then, she turned to see who was behind her. After thanking Noll and I, we stood once again. I refused to leave Melody's side, in case that damned thing tried to hurt her again.

Then, it lunged for John. Everyone froze, and gasped. '_What's it going to do?_' I thought. Before anyone else could react, Melody jumped in front of John, an the mist went into her body. '_Oh, no! Please, no!_' my mind screamed.

She began writhing and screaming. It was trying to take over her body. Oh, gosh no. I bit my lip to the point where it began to bleed I was so nervous. Then, she passed out and fell to the ground with a thump. She wasn't moving at all. Then, her chest began to move from her breathing. Thank goodness.

Then, her eyes flew open. There was something about her though, that led me to believe it wasn't Melody whom was staring up at the ceiling. She slowly rose from the ground, and looked at all of us with a blank stare. Then, she grinned evilly. '_That's not Melody. . ._'

"Well, well." she said. It wasn't her voice, and it wasn't Melody speaking. The voice was too low to be her's, and it had a dark and evil tone to it. "Lookie what we have here." She eyed all of us, making some of us shudder under her gaze. Then, she chuckled.

"Your efforts have failed, you fools." she said. "Your 'God' is no match for me. He has no power here." she said, smirking and drumming her fingertips together in a creepy manner. "You have no idea who you are up against. This girl holds _enormous _amounts of power." she said, slowly pacing back and forth, keeping her eyes on us. "When I find out how to unlock it, I will be unstoppable! I will rule the universe!" then, she began laughing strangely.

'_Enormous amounts of power? Unlock it? What the hell is he talking about?_' I thought as I stared at him intently. "I hate to rain on your parade," Noll said, glaring at Melody. "but you won't be ruling anything by the time we're through with you."

"Oh?" Melody answered, stopping a few feet in front of Noll. "I beg to differ, you idiotic, narcissistic _bastard_." she said. My eyebrows raised at her choice of words. "You are just _begging _to see what I can do, aren't you?" then, she stopped right in front of me. She looked up at me, then smirked wider.

She reached up a hand, going for my throat. Before I could react, Melody's voice screamed, "No!" Then, she cringed and bared her teeth, slowly bringing her hand back.

"Damned girl!" the entity yelled, clutching her head. "Shut the hell up! You're useless! No one cares about you anymore!" '_How dare you!_'

"I won't let you hurt him!" Melody's voice yelled. My eyes widened. '_Why is she so determined to not let it hurt me?_' Then, Melody slapped herself, so hard she was sent to the ground.

"I don't care!" the entity screamed back. "He doesn't care about you! No one does!" I was about to protest, but Melody's voice cut me off before I could speak.

"Lie!" she shouted, holding back her left hand with her right, which was trying to punch her in the face.

"Just shut up you little _bitch_!" the entity shouted right back.

"Lin!" Noll shouted. They both rushed forward, trying to drag Melody to a chair, probably to hold her down. She hardly budged.

'_Wow, that thing is strong!_' I thought as I ran forward with Yasu and Hosho right behind me. Since Melody was trying to let us, we somehow managed to pin her down in a nearby chair. Lin had his arms over her shoulders, Yasu and Hosho were holding down her legs, and Noll and I were holding down her arms. John stepped forward and began trying to exorcise the spirit from Melody's body.

During the exorcism, the entity made many vulgar and sexual remarks. I'm pretty sure we all blushed at some point or another. She was constantly thrashing and yelling. This went on for two hours straight. We were all getting exhausted. This thing was fighting back fiercely. Then, to our surprise, the chair began to levitate. We all stared wide-eyed. The chair dropped back to the ground, and Melody's body went limp.

We eased our grips on Melody, but didn't completely let go. She opened her eyes, and looked around. '_Is it over?_'

"Thought I was gone, did you?" the entity's voice asked, smirking. Melody tried to jump up, but we pinned her back down. This went on for one more hour. The entity and Melody's voices screamed unanimously, and very loudly. Then, she went limp once again. We saw the dark mist exit her body, and flee. '_Now is it over?_'

Melody was unmoving. Not even her chest was moving. John was staring at her with a look that said, 'Did I kill her?!' He looked panicked. My heart was pounding inside my own chest. I could feel my heartbeat in my stomach.

Her chest began to rise and fall with breaths. We all sighed with relief. She then opened her eyes. "I need to wash my mouth out with soap and water." Melody said, sounding very tired herself. We all chuckled.

"Melody!" her aunt yelled, rushing over to her. We all stepped back. "Are you alright?" she asked, holding her face in her hands.

"I'm fine, Aunt Val." she said, smiling softly. I could see her uncle standing in the background, pale and stiff as a board. He looked like he was about to faint. "But I have a headache." she said.

"I'll give you some pain medication." her aunt replied, and she helped her stand. Then, we heard something in the kitchen. '_Please don't tell me. . ._'

We all froze, and slowly moved to the kitchen. Written in what appeared to be blood on the wall was: '_I'm still here._' Melody looked like she was going to cry. She sank to the floor on her knees, bowing her head so we couldn't see her eyes.

"John." Noll said.

"Yes?" he answered.

"Put a blessing on Melody." he said, staring blankly at him. I could tell he was mad about this, too. Even if he didn't let it show. John nodded, and Melody slowly stood. She lifted her head back up, but I didn't see any tears on her face.

John put his hands on the top of her head and said a prayer, to prevent the entity from possessing her again. When he was done, Melody quietly thanked him and sighed, stuffing her hands in her pockets. Her eyes went wide.

She slowly brought her left hand from her pocket. In her hand was a cross on a long, silver chain. Judging by the way she was acting, it wasn't there before. Her aunt gasped and held her hands to her mouth.

"What is it, Aunt Val?" Melody asked, turning her head to her.

"I recognize that." she said softly. "That was your father's." Melody's eyes went wider, and she stared at the necklace, a tear rolling down her cheek. Noll had told me all about her parents. She never knew her father.

"John?" she asked softly.

"Yes, Melody?" he asked.

"Could you please bless this?" she asked, holding it out to him. John smiled and said, "Of course."

After he blessed the cross necklace, he handed it back to her. "Thank you." she said as she put the around her neck, staring at the ground. She gently stroked it with her fingertips. '_How are we going to get rid of this entity?_'

"By the way," Melody started. "Naru?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Yes?" he asked.

"I'm sorry for. . . um. . . calling you an 'idiotic, narcissistic, you-know-what." Mai, Ayako, Hosho and I laughed loudly. What that entity had said was actually true of Noll, sometimes. He was an idiot and a narcissist, but I'm not too sure about that last part. Noll turned to the four of us and glared. We stopped laughing and put on straight faces. Well, everyone except for me. My lips kept trying to twitch into a smile.

Then, Noll turned to Melody and said "It's not your fault." with a small smile. Melody nodded and went to the sink, turning on the water and pouring water into a glass. She turned to her aunt and asked, "Where's the soap?"

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Naru is so mischievous, going around telling people that Gene thinks Melody is pretty. . . Haha, I loved that part. **

**Just so you guys know, Masako is ****_not_**** going to be appearing in this fanfic. So, sorry to all of the Masako fans! I just really don't like her. . . That's just my opinion, though. **

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter! **

**Remember to read, review, follow, and favorite! **

**Thanks for reading! **

**Byeeeeeeeeee! :) **


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